In Bed With…Whitney Port

Whitney Port, who rose to fame on the hit reality series The Hills, is now making waves as a designer, entrepreneur and all-around supermom extraordinaire. After stints at Teen Vogue, Diane von Fürstenberg and under her own label, Whitney Eve, she’s continued to stretch her creative wings. Since last spring, much of that has come in the form of her deeply personal “I Love my Baby, But…” pregnancy video series, encouraging conversations between new mothers around the world. And recently, just two months after giving birth to her boy, Sonny, Port made her first visit back to NYC.

Here, we get #InBedWith Whitney Port.

This summer was big for you. How’s life as a new mom?

It is awesome. The first couple months have been pretty overwhelming, and my life has totally turned upside down, so I’m just figuring out what this new life of mine looks like. But it’s so much richer and more meaningful now. It’s not just about you anymore, and while it feels like such a huge responsibility, it’s a great one.

Tell us about your, “I Love My Baby, But … ” series. What sparked that idea?

I was having a really difficult time during my first trimester with morning sickness, just generally feeling like crap, and not fully accepting the fact that I was pregnant. I still wanted to do my thing and have my routine, and I wasn’t able to. So, it was just very hard for me to get through. My husband, who’s a TV producer, thought we could share what I was going through, because if I was going through it, other women must be too. It was a way to do something positive that would help people feel  support that they may not always be hearing. Pregnancy is one of those things that everyone thinks is just a bunch of rainbows and butterflies—and it’s not. I think people really want hear the honest truth, so they don’t feel so bad about themselves if they’re feeling certain ways.

Were you surprised at the reaction the series sparked?

It’s been an absolutely unbelievable response. I have been able to gain so much support. I put the series out there not knowing if people were going to feel the same way. It’s just been awesome to get that validation and then to also really help other people through their hard times. It’s important to be supportive of one another during this time because we’re kind of at one of our weakest states.

Was there a fear in the back of your brain that you would send out the first edition of it and there would be this awful feedback?

There was some thought about the typical mom shaming that you hear about because pregnancy and being a mom comes with so many different opinions. It can be very polarizing. So I was definitely scared that I would get some of that. Each time I put out a video with a new topic, I’m afraid of what the opinions may be. Just today, for example, I put a post up on my Instagram about taking Sonny to get vaccinated. It got close to 200 comments, mostly in support of vaccination but some comments were tearing vaccinations apart. So, it’s definitely scary because you open yourself up to this whole world of judgment. Then it makes you questions yourself, but I think it’s worth doing, if you can just start the conversations

How has your travel routine changed since becoming a mother?

I was traveling so much before, and now it’s definitely calmed down, which I’m not mad about. I’ve only traveled once since I had him, and that’s here to New York City. We’re told by doctors not to travel for the first three months, not to get him on plane, but I hope to travel. People say the first year is actually the easiest time to travel with them because they’re pretty calm, and they just sleep the whole time. Sonny’s first plane will probably be to visit our family on the East Coast for the holidays.

What’s the first thing that you do when you get to a hotel?

I have to unpack, especially all my toiletries—my husband makes fun of me because I bring so many. I bring my entire bathroom with me…all my lotions and potions and creams…I like to be prepared!  So, what I do is, I unpack and probably figure out the lighting situation. Lighting is always important to me and I need it to be super calming too. And then I usually order room service.

What’s your go-to order?

Here at Refinery I ordered the hamburger and the Caesar salad, which was delicious!

What usually brings you to NYC?

It’s usually either work or family that brings me to New York—my husband’s family is from here so we visit a lot.

What’s your favorite part about New York?

I love to walk. There used to be days when I lived in New York that I would have a free day, and I would spend the entire day walking around, with no plans, nowhere to be, just strolling and discovering. So I think my favorite part about New York is the ability constantly discover new places just by walking all over, which is definitely not something you can do in LA.

You’re all about healthy eating, how do you maintain that lifestyle both at home, and then, especially while traveling?

Well, right now, it hasn’t been something that I’ve prioritized since I’m breastfeeding. I’m just so hungry all the time, that I find myself eating whatever is easiest and around. One way I’ve been avoiding eating unhealthy foods is by bringing little bars or nut packs or pieces of fruit. I’m just constantly snacking on the road.

You’ve designed athletic and dishware lines. What’s next?

I’m working with two different companies right now as creative director. One is Bloom2Bloom, a give-back flower company. We have a website where we deliver flowers, and for every bouquet that’s sold, a portion of the proceeds goes to the charity Wish Upon A Teen. I’ve helped rebrand that company and design the bouquets and spread the word. It’s been really fun because I’ve learned my creativity can span across all different genres, not just fashion related.

And I’m also working as a brand director for Bundle Organics, a juice and tea company for pregnant and nursing women. So those are my two big projects at the moment, along with obviously my YouTube series that we’re filming every week.

What do you do to stay organized and balanced?

I make a lot of lists. I write everything down in an actual planner. But I’m not really that organized and balanced, I have to admit! Every day is a new challenge for me and I try to just focus on my life, day by day. Especially now with having a baby, everything’s changed. So, honestly, I can’t even really give many tips for keeping a balanced life, just because, I don’t really feel like my life is that balanced.

There’s so much newness, it’s hard to really get in the groove of things and get a schedule because you’re on a baby’s schedule now. It’s just very unpredictable, but it’s exciting.

Follow Whitney Port’s journey on Instagram, and on her website.